The Ministry of Science and ICT made back-to-back visits to the U.S. headquarters of Nvidia and OpenAI to strengthen global cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI) and built consensus on the need to establish a domestic Nvidia research and development (R&D) center.
On the 11th, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT, Vice Minister Ryu Je-myeong visited Nvidia's headquarters in Santa Clara, California, and met with Senior Vice President Jay Puri to review the domestic supply status of advanced graphics processing units (GPUs) and discuss ways for public investment in AI infrastructure to spur private investment. At the meeting, the two sides agreed on the need to promptly establish a Nvidia R&D center in Korea.
The Ministry of Science and ICT also introduced the government's "K-Digital Grand Championship" to nurture AI startups and Nvidia's "Inception Startup Grand Challenge," and explored cooperation plans to create synergy between the two programs.
Vice Minister Ryu then visited OpenAI's headquarters in San Francisco to discuss AI safety and reliability issues with Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane and looked at the potential for expanded cooperation going forward.
In addition, Vice Minister Ryu attended a startup summit hosted by the nonprofit "UKF 82," founded by Korean American venture investors and startups in the United States, introduced Korea's AI policy direction, and encouraged local Korean American founders.
Vice Minister Ryu said, "Cooperation with Nvidia and OpenAI, as well as with overseas Korean venture capital firms and startups, will be an important opportunity to elevate Korea's AI capabilities to the next level."